Contested Evaluations: Authenticity and the “Living Traditions” of Master Builders and Stonemasons in India

In accordance with a universal consensus, India’s cultural heritage is presently being evaluated with recourse to parameters such as “tradition” and “authenticity.” Concealed behind such characterizing approaches to material and immaterial cultural goods are covert value assignments that from a historical perspective themselves derive from transcultural sources. The present article investigates the historical formation of parameters such as “authenticity” with respect to “living traditions” in the Indian context. Ever since the nineteenth century, concepts such as tradition, originality, and authenticity have figured as contested notions in a dynamic field of tension. They have been negotiated by colonial agents (British and Indian), postcolonial Indian protagonists, and an international community of conservationists. Recently, postmodern conservation architects have displayed an inclination to reflect on the concept of authenticity in heritage preservation by focusing on its relation to new understandings of validity based on, for example, non-physical essence and spirit (including inspirational re-creation and craft traditions). With this in mind, the article inquires into the relevance of craftsmanship for the architectural heritage in present-day India not least with a view to foregrounding the skills of master builders and stonemasons.